Thursday, April 10, 2014

We have Liz Borino with us today talking about villains, are they really all bad? Have a read of what Liz has to say. Also check out the review and the giveaway!

A Word from Liz on

The One’s We Love to Hate

Tom Hiddleston is quoted as saying, “Every villain is the hero of their own story.” Writing advice everywhere emphasizes the need to humanize your antagonist because no one is all bad, nor are they all good, but that’s a different post.

The question became where to find models of antagonists that did good in the world while torturing the protagonists. Let’s face it: most antagonists are not people you want to cuddle with. They’re generally the ones pulling the couple apart in romance, criminals in crime fiction, or the unsupportive parent in family saga, to name a few examples. About the time I was going to give up and wing it, I remembered Javert, the ultimate honorable antagonist from Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. If you don’t know who that is stop whatever you’re doing and acquire tickets to see the musical on Broadway… not feasible? Okay. Then read the book or watch the movie. But be warned the book is close to 1000 pages long, and the movie stars Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean and Russell Crow as Inspector Javert. Not everyone is thrilled with the casting. Anyway, recap for the poor unfortunate souls that don’t know the story, Valjean is a convict who broke parole to begin a life as an honest man, and he succeeds in nearly every measure of success. Javert is the policeman who doggedly pursues him for several decades. It’s irrelevant to Javert that Valjean has an adopted daughter or that he attained his status and wealth legally. All Javert cares about is the fact that Valjean broke his parole, and is therefore still a criminal. Mercy never enters into the inspector’s mind or heart. And yet, no one blames him for it, not even the man whom he’s terrified for all those years. Of course, everyone involved in the story, wants Javert to leave him alone.

So, now I had my model of an upstanding antagonist. I kept Javert in mind while plotting the Angel series because I wanted to make the antagonist, Troy, sympathetic. I had intended for Aaron, Angel to Jordan, to begin falling for him once was convinced Jordan was dead. But the main characters rebelled against my intentions, as they often do. It turned out that I was writing a different series than I thought. As Angel’s Hero developed, I came to realize Aaron could not fall for someone else because his connection to Jordan was too strong. Troy, however, did not change all that much, he still pushes himself on Aaron, even before the Army announces Jordan’s death. On a seemingly positive note, Troy continues to support Aaron when everyone else in his life abandons him. But the question then is why? Does Troy love Aaron? Or is he using him for his own gains? In Angel’s Truth, Troy leads us to believe it’s both. His feelings for Aaron are real, but the fact that Aaron can help cover his ass, doesn’t hurt. You know what, though? I don’t care why Troy hits on Jordan’s angel, neither do Aaron or Jordan. We just want him to stop. Sounds familiar, no?

All right, I’m not Victor Hugo. I haven’t yet made a heroic villain, but it’s something to work toward. In the meantime, please check out Angel’s Hero and Angel’s Truth if you enjoy sexy men who defend their love for each other and country. Thanks for reading.

About The Author

Liz Borino transcribes the world inside her head onto the page, and share it with the people who are stuck in the "real world" to makes their lives a little more interesting. Because in her world, heroes fall and stand up again with the help of their partners and friends. Liz's world is littered with formidable obstacles, which her heroes overcome with a fire of courage and passion. The beauty of love between two men is celebrated. Who wouldn't want to live there?When not with her heroes, Liz enjoys exploring cities, working toward social justice, and editing for other authors. Liz is less than three months from obtaining her Masters' degree in English and published ten books since 2010.

Connect with The Author

Synopsis

“Freeze or I’ll shoot!” Aaron yelled and aimed the gun at Jordan’s chest.“Angel, no, please.” Hacking fluid-filled coughs broke up Jordan’s words.“Jordan?” Aaron whispered his name as recognition painted a mural of memories of their life together on his face. “Yes.” He coughed red into his dirty hand. “Please help.”

So begins Angel’s Truth, the sequel to Angel’s Hero. Army Captain Jordan Collins arrives home, only to find the man responsible for his imprisonment, torture, and near-execution with his husband. Had his Angel moved on without him?

Aaron “Angel” Collins has driven his family and friends away in his quest to learn the truth of Jordan’s fate, leaving only Major General Troy Hart willing to help him. When Jordan miraculously returns, with a spirit more broken than his body, Aaron realizes Hart was really a liar with an agenda of his own. Aaron is unable to take time to heal his own emotional wounds, because he and Jordan learn Hart’s betrayal is even greater than they originally believed, threatening the entire nation. Now the reunited couple must race against time to keep a promise to Jordan’s saviour and prevent Hart from bringing terrorism once again to American soil.

Mark’s Review

Everyone should have an Angel!

In this second instalment of the Angel series everything comes out in the light. We find out who has not only been playing at a double agent, but a triple agent too and put Jordan's life in danger while he was in Afghanistan - the dirty rat bastard! It is difficult to write a long review on this book as I would just be giving too much of the plot of away and we wouldn't want that now would we? Suffice to say that in the second book we get our just rewards on the person that has been making Angel’s and Jordan’s life unbearable – HA!

I did like the way that the threads start to come together and the trap for the perpetrator gets smaller until he is backed into a corner. However, this was something that Jordan and Angel had to do themselves as no one believes them at the beginning and they have to collect the evidence to convict this person themselves. Here Angel becomes the heroic guy, putting his life at risk to get the info needed. Jordan still out of action due to his injuries. But as the noose tightens Angel's life is threatened.

The story made for a fast paced read. So much so that I just felt I was a little lost with things at times whilst trying to put all the threads together. I just couldn't seem to make them add up sometimes, however this is only my own personal feeling. Liz does a great job in keeping the reader on the edge of their seats with new revelations, twists and turns. There is even a happy end for the nurse that helped Jordan when he was in the Afghani prison. This was a nice touch that made me feel really good.

It is obvious that Angel and Jordan are so in love with each other that either of them would be prepared to lay down their life for the other. A story about an established love and relationship that is put to the test. Therefore both books are an enjoyable read, but I would suggest getting both and then reading with no break. I was glad I didn't have to wait ages for book two considering the cliff-hanger book one ends on.

I've been waiting for this one to come out forever! I'm so excited!!!!!!! The cover is gorgeous and I'm ever SO glad to hear that this one doesn't have a cliff-hanger ending because I thought the last one was going to kill me! :D

This sounds amazing. Just wanted to let you know that for awhile I was not getting your blog posts in my email. It was going to my damn spam, which really pissed me off and I am not sure why that was happening. When I looked into it I found about 30% of the blogs I follow were in there. I think it is because of the email they were sent from. They were all the same. (blog name) donotreply.com. So I just added it to my contacts. I love this blog.